The Nonrevolutionaries

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Transcript of The Nonrevolutionaries

By Yu-Wol Chong-Nyon The Nonrevolutionaries Vivian Huang10/27/2012Honors HumanitiesBlock 2 1. Who does the narrator curse at the beginning and end of the story? The narrator curses the Allied countries, who decided to split Korea during World War II. She also curses the men in her own country, who brought upon violence during the civil war. 2. Who invades the narrator's homeland? 3. What does the leader of the Communists do after rounding up the people on the playfield? One by one, the leader calls up a "traitor" in the playfield. Then the leader hatefully condemns and kills the person. 4. What do the hundred soldiers do? The soldiers disperse themselves among the crowd. When prompted by the leader's question about the traitor, they all shout "Kill him!" 5. How do the people react to the leader's question: "What shall we do with this traitor to the people?" At first, the people are silent. Later, they respond to the leader's question along with the soldiers. The whole crowd yells ""Kill him!" at every prisoner. 6. What is the reason for the narrator's curse at the beginning and end of the story? The narrator's curse blames the people who ripped her country apart; they had split Korea without even consulting the people. She states that because of them, her homeland will never be the same again. 7. How does the narrator characterize the invaders? 8. Why do you suppose the Communist leader carries out his actions publicly? I suppose the leader carries out his actions publicly to reach out and display power to as many people as possible. He wants the people to fear his party and/or to support it. 9. What purpose do you think the hundred soldiers serve? By distributing themselves among the crowd and invading the people's "personal space," I think the hundred soldiers serve to instill fear and to convince the people to obey them. 10. Why do the people react as they do to the leader's question about what to do with each "traitor"? The people's silence causes the soldiers to threaten them. After the people are accused of being traitors, they fear their own murders and agree with the leader. 11. What is your judgement of the conduct of the people? Give reasons for your views. 12. If you had been one of the people in the crowd, how do you think you would have reacted? I would have been horrified to see a leader killing familiar townspeople so cruelly. However, I, too, would've been too scared for my own safety to speak out. 13. For the Focus Activity on page 662, you listed several places and times in which ruthless leaders have used the weapons of "confusion, indecision, fear." Which of those weapeons are used in the situation portrayed in this story? Describe how. Confusion, indecision, and fear all appear as weapons in this story. For example, the people are confused by the executions. Indecision is portrayed at the beginning, when the narrator's parents cannot decide whether or not she should hide. The most dominant weapon is fear. At the playfield, the people don't want to be killed like the 12 traitors, so they agree with the invaders. 14. Repetition is the recurrence of words, phrases, or lines in a piece of writing. Identify an example of the used of repetition in this story. What effect does the reptition have? "Will your rice and your wine ever taste the same again? Will your flutes and harps ever sound the same again? Cursed be the men of the East. Cursed be the men of the West. Cursed be those..."The repetition in this poem emphasizes the the tense, woeful mood and the narrator's anger and desperation. 15. Based on what the story tells you, do you think the narrator is justified in blaming other countries for the suffering in her homeland? I think that the narrator is justified in blaming other countries, since they caused so much suffering in her homeland. The decision to divide Korea led to many issues, such as a civil war. Some issues are hard to solve and still go on today (e.g. North Korea vs. South Korea). North Koreans, particularly communism supporters, invade the narrator's homeland (South Korea). The narrator characterizes the invaders as rough and cruel. They speak in bellows and act violently. The people in the crowd feel "the alien presence close to his skin" and "gnawing cancer digging into his soul." Communism Poster Card I feel sad that the people had to resort to supporting the murders of their fellow townspeople. Nevertheless, I understand that they were under immense pressure.